ABSTRACT
The authors describe a consortium model for graduate education in nursing among four regional universities in southern Louisiana. A multi-site collaborative approach was implemented to increase educational opportunities for place-bound professional nurses while increasing institutional cooperation and achieving educational efficiencies. The development, design, and operational components of the consortium are described, and recommendations are presented for nursing administrators and faculty who may consider using a similar approach.
Subject(s)
Education, Nursing, Graduate/standards , Interinstitutional Relations , Models, Theoretical , Schools, Nursing/organization & administration , Computer Communication Networks , Curriculum , Decision Making, Organizational , Education, Nursing, Graduate/organization & administration , Humans , LouisianaABSTRACT
The purpose of this experiment was to determine the effects of an audiotape series employing Relaxation with Guided Imagery (RGI) on the psychophysiologic stress response and wound healing in surgical patients. Twenty-four patients undergoing cholecystectomy were randomly assigned to either RGI or control (quiet period) conditions and measured against three indexes of recovery: state anxiety, urinary cortisol levels, and wound inflammatory responses. An analysis of variance for repeated measures revealed that the RGI group demonstrated significantly less state anxiety, lower cortisol levels one day following surgery, and less surgical wound erythema than the control group. Thus, the RGI tapes demonstrated stress-relieving outcomes closely associated with healing.
